For everyone who wants to enjoy delicious food AND stay fit and healthy.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Eat healthfully for a pittance: "Superfoods" that also are incredibly inexpensive

You might think that healthy eating has to be pricey eating. And it's true that eating away from home tends to be that way. Fast food is cheap and, for the most part, dreadfully unhealthy. At fine dining establishments, at least you can order fish and vegetables -- although I must add that those choices usually still come on plates glistening with oil and butter, packing on calories that we really don't need.
But whether you eat these foods at home or order them at health-oriented restaurants, here's a list from Eating Well magazine of foods that pack a nutritional wallop for pennies a serving.

1. Lentils (15c per one-cup serving)2. Oats (10c per 1/3-cup uncooked oats)3. Kale (60c per cup, cooked)4. Almonds (60c per ounce)5. Tea (price varies, but listed as 10c per tea bag)6. Oranges (35c each, or more depending on variety)7. Tuna (about 75c per three-ounce serving of canned tuna)8. Peanut butter (depends on the kind you buy, but can be as low as 25c per 2-tablespoon serving)9. Apples (listed as just 25c each, but the ones I get are closer to $1 each -- large, Honeycrisp yummies)10. Eggs (20c or less per egg)11. Carrots (25c per cup of cut-up carrots)12. Cabbage (25c per cup of shredded cabbage, as for coleslaw)

Author info

My day job is college professor -- of mass communication and journalism, at the University of Cincinnati. I've probably got a few more years to go, and it's a good gig. Love to travel, cook, dine out, and work out.